kubrickzghost
New Member
I found this thread with the most awesome set-up I've ever seen.
MAXXIMUS' VOLKSGARDEN ROTARY GROW
On this grow will will apply the vertical concept to a rotary grow system. There are many rotary systems on the market but the one that is the most affordable and reviewable is the VolksGarden. THis system has been on the market for a few years and has proven itself a sturdy reliable system.
The potential for yields is enourmous with these systems but they do have downsides that are overlly exagerated on grow forums throughout the internet.
The VolksGarden has solved many of the negative issues that are related to rotary systems.
For instance, no longer will you need 300 plus clones in order to fill out the system. This system holds comfortably around 80 plants.
The price issue has also been dealt with when it comes to the VOlksGarden. With these units priced at under$2000 it becomes clear that the VolksGarden is not like any of the $4000 rotary growing experiments you will find for sale on the internet.
Using 3" rockwool cubes (maximum of 4 per row) clones are lined on the interior of the drum. We let them grow as they rotate, toward a centralized light source. This allows for the full use of all light energy that is radiated.
remember you can always look at the original thread HERE
Grow Materials Used
LIGHTS
600w
MEDIUM
3" rockwool
*****************************
*****************************
-------------------------------------
*****************************
*****************************
(MAXXIMUS SAYS)
OH YAAAAAA that's more like it. So this is my new hmmmm.... toy is not the right word, but it's fun like a toy and has a bit of a new toy feeling to it, kinda like calling a new car a toy, but it kicked by last systems but and has me looking at the whole picture a little differently these days. This is from my first VolksGarden(VG) grow. I wasnt quite ready for it as it happened faster then I had anticipated, but it rocked my world even though the take was only .5 lb
************************************************** ******
Here is a youtube video of an install
******************************
******************************
- IT shows you most of what you are asking about as far as size and drive. It does move similar to a Ferris wheel with the exception that the plants stay perpendicular to the light the whole time instead of remaining upright. One wheel is chain driven and the other three idle. There is a spring loaded wheel pressing down on the cylinder down onto the drive wheel. 4 foot diameter wheel, with a cool-tube glass light fixture at the center. I am running a 600 watt lamp, though you can run any lamp in it that will fit into the cool-tube.
I am using Botanicare's CNS (commercial nutrient system) 17 veg formula and their flower formula as well. I used to use all Canna nutrients but they are insanely expensive and weren't what I was looking for. I felt that the Canna food emphasized red hair growth and taste. Two things I don't care about very much. The CNS 17 (in my opinion) promotes size, resin, and hardness. On top of that the CNS is 1/4 the price and it is a simple one part formula unlike Canna. I keep the nutrient mixture light (800 PPM) for veg since they are new to the Volksgarden at that point. In flower in the first week I give them 1000 - 1200 ppms for the first week, after that 1500.
******************************
I am using plain tap water and ph adjusting it, but I am not a freak about my ph meter. I tend to fly blind a lot using my eyes as my main meter.
For this run - on top of the one part bloom food I have been adding a little silicate blast which helps strengthen the cell structure and is supposed to add a little weight to yield.
In the first week of flower I added Advanced Nutrient's Bud Blood. It is supposed to speed up flower formation. I was skeptical, especially after seeing the price - it was about 22 dollars for enough for one run. I must say it works. The flowers formed much faster than the last time. It may have taken a couple of days off
my finish time, which matters to me because rent is always due quicker than you think.
I am also adding Monster Bloom from grotek. I use 4 teaspoons per 5 gallons of water. I use it twice before harvest. Two weeks apart.
In week 3 I will start to add ChaChing by fox farms. This stuff really does bring out the resin and it is not too expensive. The strain I am running is Blackberry Kush. It is a 7 week indica strain that has a strong berry flavor, lots of crystals, and is the lowest yielder I have ever seen! Even lower than OG. Sigh.
I only ran her because it was the one mom I had that was big enough to spit out 40 clones. (I got the volksgarden more suddenly than expected. After the stock market crashed a friend of mine had lost a bundle and was looking for a better investment. After he saw my gardening skills and I told him about the VG - he bought it and will have doubled his investment in less than 6 months. No stock is going to do that for you.)
Cheers Maxx
*******************
Moving on to round two.
60 plants in this run, with a little more veg time
The result was .97 lbs. Not too bad but still not what I'm looking for. Still kicking the but out of the DWC system I was using before this though.
If you have to worry about plant counts then this system may not be the way to go. You really are growing branches and not large plants, and you could say that all you grow in this system are buds, as there is very little waste.
The gram per watt ratio is pretty good so far, but I am really just getting my 'rotary legs' so to speak. I was looking for better last time out, and finding the right plant for the system is part of the process. 1st grow at .5 lb, 2nd at 1 lb, so at this rate of increase.......
IMO this machine is genius! I grew the first strain right before I got the wheel in a regular DWC garden. The final product was okay. And in time it looked better. However - the same strain in the volksgarden - perfect. It went from fluffy hazy in the DWC to OG Kush like density in the wheel. same exact plant. Hard nugs that were exactly what I wanted. Let's put it this way the collective I took it to (and it is the best collective in LA, ie the world) took one look at it and put it on it's top shelf because it was so frosty.
Completely covered in trichomes. It looked like velvet. That means that this wheel turned out some of the best medicine in the world. Patients even went online on the weedtracker forums to talk about how awesome it was.
Once I have the height, the nutes and the genetics just right - this will be a beast of production. I will be satisfied with two pounds but I will be pushing for three. Oh what a fun game this is. It is a nice feeling to walk into a dispensary and have the owners treat you like a rockstar because of the obvious and hard to find quality that you are bringing them.
Cheers,
Maxx
***********************************
OK here we go for round #3
I am running 54 hogsbreath (Hindu Kush x Afghani landrace), 8 Mazar
(Afghani x Skunk #1) and two Blackberry. These clones are taken
from mothers that were made from clones purchased at the local
dispenseries. (Isn't Cali grrrrreat?!)
The blackberry and Mazar are for my personal headstash and I am
running the Mazar next. I like to have a preview of what I am
going to be dealing with. for example in my last blackberry run I
put one Hogsbreath in to see the growth pattern etc. I learned how
fast and tall it grows. So I estimated that 6 days veg would be
just right and so far it looks like I was correct. I also learned
that it was more nute sensitive than the Blackberry Kush.
For the first 6 days I used CNS 17 veg formula and I ran CO2 on for
one hour and off for one hour for 24 hours. (I am a firm believer
in 24 hour veg light, why waste time?) I am using a 25 gallon res
and I fill it with 20 gallons of tap water. I used 330 mls of CNS
for veg.
On day one of flower I switched the lights to 12/12 and changed the
nutrient solution to CNS 17 bloom. I used 380 mls. I have a ppm
and ph meter but I prefer to fly blind, after a week or two it's
easy to estimate how much food they need. Just look at the plants,
they'll tell you what they want.
I also added one packet of Bud Blood. This speeds up the finish
time by about 5 to 7 days.
After 7 days of bloom I turn on the 400 watt that I have also
placed in the cool tube. Now there are 1000 watts of light going
in there. I waited for the first week because I didn't want to
encourage too much stretching. But just as the first signs of
flowers appear - I boost the light.
(btw in order to run that much light in a tent I have to have the
ac directly ducted in almost all the time (except when the CO2 is
on. duh.))
As I enter the second week I can see that the Hogsbreath grows a
little faster than the Mazar. I can veg the mazar for 7 days on
the next run. The hogsbreath is very tall now, I think it will
stop growing just short of the burn zone. I am glad I switched to
12/12 when I did, though at the time I thought it was a little
premature.
I am running the mazar next time out because all the reports I have
read claim it is a very big yielder. While Hogsbreath is supposed
to be big too, I don't believe it is as big and as dense. I am
going for weight here.
Cheers,
Maxx
************************************
Here are the pics from the first day of week 3 of flower.
I am still giving them CNS 17 bloom formula, though I am upping the
dossage now to around 420 mls. I am not adding anything else yet.
As you can see the plants have gotten very tall very quickly. This
is from 6 days of veg. Next time I will do 5. if some of them get
too tall and touch the tube I will bend them with fishing line. I
have already tested to see if I could be done and it is easy. You
just tie the string around the plant and then anchor it to one of
the empty spaces on the wheel.
The Mazar is budding faster than the hogsbreath. But both of these
strains are sooo much better than the last one i ran. As you can
see from the pics the canopy is finally filling out the way I had
hoped it would. Harvest should be much bigger than the last. I
see bud sites everywhere. Now the real test will be bud density
and frostiness.
This last pic is the air-con unit that is keeping the room between 75 and 85F
Cheers,
Maxx
******************************************
So I talked to a breeder and it turns out there is a reason the
plants have been getting too tall. Instead of Hogsbreath I was
given sour hog. Which is hogsbreath times sour diesel. While SD
is a high yielder it also gets tall. So I had to tie down some
more of the plants and I had to give them bushmaster. Bushmaster
freezes vertical growth for about two weeks. Bt it weakens the
leaves so some of them have turned yellow on the plants closest to
the bulb. Hopefully there will be no more growth and the buds will
just get fatter.
I am obviously switching strains for the next run. I have already
taken 30 clones of the afghani skunk.
Cheers,
Maxx
I am obviously switching strains for the next run. I have already
taken 30 clones of the afghani skunk.
Cheers,
Maxx
*******************************
Here are some new pics from week 5. Height has continued to be an
issue so I have had to go SCROG. Screen of green. I attatched the
screen to the wheel with a couple of thick wires and it is totally
secured and has no problem rotating around the light. The screen
will keep all of the plants from touching the light and burning
themselves. Keep in mind that none of this would be needed if I
was growing a pure Indica like I intended. Once again, thank you
shitty breeder.
I still think I should get a big yield on this one. The screen is
going to help.
This goes to show how diverse the system can be. You can tie
plants down and you can even insert a screen.
Cheers,
Maxx
**************************************
***************************************
NEW GROWER COMES IN TO POST ON HIS OMEGA
***************************************
*************************************
eh- WTF, you only live once.
***************************************
***************************************
***************************************
This is the end of week 6. this strain will
probably go 9 or 10 weeks.
I am giving them about 500 mls of CNS 17 bloom and 5 teaspoons of
monster bloom. I will be giving them my homemade sugar/molases
sweetner in a few days. Then I hit them with Fox Farms Cha Ching
for increased resin production.
After talking to my really helpful friend at the hydro store he
warned me not to let the buds grow into/through the screen because
this creates a massive hassle when it is harvest time. You have to
cut and mangle the top buds out of the screen. To avoid that he
suggested I simply pull the plants out of the screen everyday by
hand. It isn't very hard at all. Keep in mind that this isn't a
typical scrog grow. This was an emergency scrog to protect the
plants from the light and save the yield, not to increase the yield
from the start by training the plants through the screen. All this
because of sour d genetics. Sigh.
Cheers,
Maxx
IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF VERTICALGREEN.ORG YOU CAN REGISTER HERE
DarkHorse View Public Profile Send a private message to DarkHorse Find all posts by DarkHorse
MAXXIMUS' VOLKSGARDEN ROTARY GROW
On this grow will will apply the vertical concept to a rotary grow system. There are many rotary systems on the market but the one that is the most affordable and reviewable is the VolksGarden. THis system has been on the market for a few years and has proven itself a sturdy reliable system.
The potential for yields is enourmous with these systems but they do have downsides that are overlly exagerated on grow forums throughout the internet.
The VolksGarden has solved many of the negative issues that are related to rotary systems.
For instance, no longer will you need 300 plus clones in order to fill out the system. This system holds comfortably around 80 plants.
The price issue has also been dealt with when it comes to the VOlksGarden. With these units priced at under$2000 it becomes clear that the VolksGarden is not like any of the $4000 rotary growing experiments you will find for sale on the internet.
Using 3" rockwool cubes (maximum of 4 per row) clones are lined on the interior of the drum. We let them grow as they rotate, toward a centralized light source. This allows for the full use of all light energy that is radiated.
remember you can always look at the original thread HERE
Grow Materials Used
LIGHTS
600w
MEDIUM
3" rockwool
*****************************
*****************************
-------------------------------------
*****************************
*****************************
(MAXXIMUS SAYS)
OH YAAAAAA that's more like it. So this is my new hmmmm.... toy is not the right word, but it's fun like a toy and has a bit of a new toy feeling to it, kinda like calling a new car a toy, but it kicked by last systems but and has me looking at the whole picture a little differently these days. This is from my first VolksGarden(VG) grow. I wasnt quite ready for it as it happened faster then I had anticipated, but it rocked my world even though the take was only .5 lb
************************************************** ******
Here is a youtube video of an install
******************************
******************************
- IT shows you most of what you are asking about as far as size and drive. It does move similar to a Ferris wheel with the exception that the plants stay perpendicular to the light the whole time instead of remaining upright. One wheel is chain driven and the other three idle. There is a spring loaded wheel pressing down on the cylinder down onto the drive wheel. 4 foot diameter wheel, with a cool-tube glass light fixture at the center. I am running a 600 watt lamp, though you can run any lamp in it that will fit into the cool-tube.
I am using Botanicare's CNS (commercial nutrient system) 17 veg formula and their flower formula as well. I used to use all Canna nutrients but they are insanely expensive and weren't what I was looking for. I felt that the Canna food emphasized red hair growth and taste. Two things I don't care about very much. The CNS 17 (in my opinion) promotes size, resin, and hardness. On top of that the CNS is 1/4 the price and it is a simple one part formula unlike Canna. I keep the nutrient mixture light (800 PPM) for veg since they are new to the Volksgarden at that point. In flower in the first week I give them 1000 - 1200 ppms for the first week, after that 1500.
******************************
I am using plain tap water and ph adjusting it, but I am not a freak about my ph meter. I tend to fly blind a lot using my eyes as my main meter.
For this run - on top of the one part bloom food I have been adding a little silicate blast which helps strengthen the cell structure and is supposed to add a little weight to yield.
In the first week of flower I added Advanced Nutrient's Bud Blood. It is supposed to speed up flower formation. I was skeptical, especially after seeing the price - it was about 22 dollars for enough for one run. I must say it works. The flowers formed much faster than the last time. It may have taken a couple of days off
my finish time, which matters to me because rent is always due quicker than you think.
I am also adding Monster Bloom from grotek. I use 4 teaspoons per 5 gallons of water. I use it twice before harvest. Two weeks apart.
In week 3 I will start to add ChaChing by fox farms. This stuff really does bring out the resin and it is not too expensive. The strain I am running is Blackberry Kush. It is a 7 week indica strain that has a strong berry flavor, lots of crystals, and is the lowest yielder I have ever seen! Even lower than OG. Sigh.
I only ran her because it was the one mom I had that was big enough to spit out 40 clones. (I got the volksgarden more suddenly than expected. After the stock market crashed a friend of mine had lost a bundle and was looking for a better investment. After he saw my gardening skills and I told him about the VG - he bought it and will have doubled his investment in less than 6 months. No stock is going to do that for you.)
Cheers Maxx
*******************
Moving on to round two.
60 plants in this run, with a little more veg time
The result was .97 lbs. Not too bad but still not what I'm looking for. Still kicking the but out of the DWC system I was using before this though.
If you have to worry about plant counts then this system may not be the way to go. You really are growing branches and not large plants, and you could say that all you grow in this system are buds, as there is very little waste.
The gram per watt ratio is pretty good so far, but I am really just getting my 'rotary legs' so to speak. I was looking for better last time out, and finding the right plant for the system is part of the process. 1st grow at .5 lb, 2nd at 1 lb, so at this rate of increase.......
IMO this machine is genius! I grew the first strain right before I got the wheel in a regular DWC garden. The final product was okay. And in time it looked better. However - the same strain in the volksgarden - perfect. It went from fluffy hazy in the DWC to OG Kush like density in the wheel. same exact plant. Hard nugs that were exactly what I wanted. Let's put it this way the collective I took it to (and it is the best collective in LA, ie the world) took one look at it and put it on it's top shelf because it was so frosty.
Completely covered in trichomes. It looked like velvet. That means that this wheel turned out some of the best medicine in the world. Patients even went online on the weedtracker forums to talk about how awesome it was.
Once I have the height, the nutes and the genetics just right - this will be a beast of production. I will be satisfied with two pounds but I will be pushing for three. Oh what a fun game this is. It is a nice feeling to walk into a dispensary and have the owners treat you like a rockstar because of the obvious and hard to find quality that you are bringing them.
Cheers,
Maxx
***********************************
OK here we go for round #3
I am running 54 hogsbreath (Hindu Kush x Afghani landrace), 8 Mazar
(Afghani x Skunk #1) and two Blackberry. These clones are taken
from mothers that were made from clones purchased at the local
dispenseries. (Isn't Cali grrrrreat?!)
The blackberry and Mazar are for my personal headstash and I am
running the Mazar next. I like to have a preview of what I am
going to be dealing with. for example in my last blackberry run I
put one Hogsbreath in to see the growth pattern etc. I learned how
fast and tall it grows. So I estimated that 6 days veg would be
just right and so far it looks like I was correct. I also learned
that it was more nute sensitive than the Blackberry Kush.
For the first 6 days I used CNS 17 veg formula and I ran CO2 on for
one hour and off for one hour for 24 hours. (I am a firm believer
in 24 hour veg light, why waste time?) I am using a 25 gallon res
and I fill it with 20 gallons of tap water. I used 330 mls of CNS
for veg.
On day one of flower I switched the lights to 12/12 and changed the
nutrient solution to CNS 17 bloom. I used 380 mls. I have a ppm
and ph meter but I prefer to fly blind, after a week or two it's
easy to estimate how much food they need. Just look at the plants,
they'll tell you what they want.
I also added one packet of Bud Blood. This speeds up the finish
time by about 5 to 7 days.
After 7 days of bloom I turn on the 400 watt that I have also
placed in the cool tube. Now there are 1000 watts of light going
in there. I waited for the first week because I didn't want to
encourage too much stretching. But just as the first signs of
flowers appear - I boost the light.
(btw in order to run that much light in a tent I have to have the
ac directly ducted in almost all the time (except when the CO2 is
on. duh.))
As I enter the second week I can see that the Hogsbreath grows a
little faster than the Mazar. I can veg the mazar for 7 days on
the next run. The hogsbreath is very tall now, I think it will
stop growing just short of the burn zone. I am glad I switched to
12/12 when I did, though at the time I thought it was a little
premature.
I am running the mazar next time out because all the reports I have
read claim it is a very big yielder. While Hogsbreath is supposed
to be big too, I don't believe it is as big and as dense. I am
going for weight here.
Cheers,
Maxx
************************************
Here are the pics from the first day of week 3 of flower.
I am still giving them CNS 17 bloom formula, though I am upping the
dossage now to around 420 mls. I am not adding anything else yet.
As you can see the plants have gotten very tall very quickly. This
is from 6 days of veg. Next time I will do 5. if some of them get
too tall and touch the tube I will bend them with fishing line. I
have already tested to see if I could be done and it is easy. You
just tie the string around the plant and then anchor it to one of
the empty spaces on the wheel.
The Mazar is budding faster than the hogsbreath. But both of these
strains are sooo much better than the last one i ran. As you can
see from the pics the canopy is finally filling out the way I had
hoped it would. Harvest should be much bigger than the last. I
see bud sites everywhere. Now the real test will be bud density
and frostiness.
This last pic is the air-con unit that is keeping the room between 75 and 85F
Cheers,
Maxx
******************************************
So I talked to a breeder and it turns out there is a reason the
plants have been getting too tall. Instead of Hogsbreath I was
given sour hog. Which is hogsbreath times sour diesel. While SD
is a high yielder it also gets tall. So I had to tie down some
more of the plants and I had to give them bushmaster. Bushmaster
freezes vertical growth for about two weeks. Bt it weakens the
leaves so some of them have turned yellow on the plants closest to
the bulb. Hopefully there will be no more growth and the buds will
just get fatter.
I am obviously switching strains for the next run. I have already
taken 30 clones of the afghani skunk.
Cheers,
Maxx
I am obviously switching strains for the next run. I have already
taken 30 clones of the afghani skunk.
Cheers,
Maxx
*******************************
Here are some new pics from week 5. Height has continued to be an
issue so I have had to go SCROG. Screen of green. I attatched the
screen to the wheel with a couple of thick wires and it is totally
secured and has no problem rotating around the light. The screen
will keep all of the plants from touching the light and burning
themselves. Keep in mind that none of this would be needed if I
was growing a pure Indica like I intended. Once again, thank you
shitty breeder.
I still think I should get a big yield on this one. The screen is
going to help.
This goes to show how diverse the system can be. You can tie
plants down and you can even insert a screen.
Cheers,
Maxx
**************************************
***************************************
NEW GROWER COMES IN TO POST ON HIS OMEGA
***************************************
*************************************
eh- WTF, you only live once.
***************************************
***************************************
***************************************
This is the end of week 6. this strain will
probably go 9 or 10 weeks.
I am giving them about 500 mls of CNS 17 bloom and 5 teaspoons of
monster bloom. I will be giving them my homemade sugar/molases
sweetner in a few days. Then I hit them with Fox Farms Cha Ching
for increased resin production.
After talking to my really helpful friend at the hydro store he
warned me not to let the buds grow into/through the screen because
this creates a massive hassle when it is harvest time. You have to
cut and mangle the top buds out of the screen. To avoid that he
suggested I simply pull the plants out of the screen everyday by
hand. It isn't very hard at all. Keep in mind that this isn't a
typical scrog grow. This was an emergency scrog to protect the
plants from the light and save the yield, not to increase the yield
from the start by training the plants through the screen. All this
because of sour d genetics. Sigh.
Cheers,
Maxx
IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF VERTICALGREEN.ORG YOU CAN REGISTER HERE
#2
May 14th, 2009, 12:01 PM
DarkHorse
Cloud Machine
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 138
I have put together a FAQ of all the most relavant questions on Maxximus's Thread.
You can read the original thread here----http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/89415-omega-gardens-volksgarden-rotary-garden.html
Q) Is it kind of like a ebb&flow with a 45 min cycle?
A) That is correct though you don't constantly water, but just for 1 or 2 cycles per day and only to a depth of 1/4 in up the rooting medium, and you would separate the watering cycles if you indeed needed 2 cycles.
Q) You say its in a 5x5 hut? How much room do you have to work with and what are the temps like?
A) Dims for the VG are 4 foot and 31 inches so i have 6 inch clearance of either end, and I have 2 foot plus on the open side of the VG so its ideal. temps from 75 to 85F with the air-con.
Q) What about getting enough fresh air? would you need to seal the window with a board and cut a whole to attach an air intake? and where would you pipe the used (coal filtered) air out, just into the apartment?
A) If you are knocking the smell down with a can filter then you don`t have to worry about what you do with the air imo. A grow tent should have venting for air exchange in the tent, plus venting for air-cooling your lighting, and if you are lucky one more for an air-con unit. Depending on your local you can have your windows open so exchange and humidity are not an issue, or you may need to run a dehumidifier. If you are lucky you may have a handy way to exhaust your heat/room, if not you may to get creative. It`s not a problem for me to have my window open so I am lucky.
Q) Maxximus, what do you do for water? Tap? Filtered? How much water does a system like this use?
Also, how many mothers do you need to feed the VG 60 plants at the same time? Do you know how long it takes for a clone to grow into a mother plant that can produce that much? Just trying to get an idea of how big of an area you need for mothers and clones to run 1 or 2 of these and how many mothers it takes to feed one.
How much cut in yield do you think there would be if you ran around 48 plants?
A) I use tap water because it is free and easy to get to.
I have a 25 gallon resevoir that I fill with 20 gallons of water.
As far as mother plants go - two plants are enough to fill the
system. Give them 2 months of veg time. Two moms will fit in a
closet or a cheap rubber made cabinet at home depot. Get sum t5
flourescent lights. They are cheaper to run and aren't very hot.
As for taking clones - I usually do two runs. 4 weeks from harvest
I take about 35 clones. 10 days later I take 30 more. you want to
put at least 60 plants in there.
Q) I would like to ask you a few questions which I can not obtain from the dealer in Orange county for the Volksgarden.
kinda lame that they dont know some of this stuff if they are selling them
1. how many row of cub slots are there in side the cylinder?
A) 16 slots
Q) How many cubes per row can be fited?
A) 5 max
Q) For a 3'' cube, how far it is from the top of the cube to the "light housing and glass tube?
A) 18 inches
Q) When cylinder rotate, i believe clockwise, how long does the bottom row which contact with the "water/nutrition" tray stay there so it can soak the "water & nutrien"?
A) Depends which side you are looking at it as to clockwise or counter. short time like 2 or 3 mins and only water .25 inches deep in the cube and let the RWs capillary action do the rest
Q) What are the best strains to grow in the VolksGarden?
A) Strains - La Confidential, LA Woman, Purple Kush, Strawberry Cough(though it has haze genetics so veg it shorter), G - 13, Hash Plant, Afghani. You are looking for a short indica that takes 8 weeks. Go buy a Cannabible, by Jason King and start getting to know your strains.
The price of meds is higher in LA. Start going to your local Oakland clubs, get to know the people working there, show up consistently for a few weeks and buy some meds. Mention that you have a crop going. Tell them the strain, usually they will ask you how much of it will you have and what are you going to do with it. Take it from there.
For most places the order of price is - OG, Elites(Chem dawg, Head Band, Sour D, G-13, etc), kushes, Hazes, purples. They tend to look at the meds more than actually smoking it. They look for - Frostiness, density, color, smell.
Good luck. Buy some books and do some research. It is fun. The best book you can buy is Jorge Cervantes Medical Growers Bible.
Q) Maxx, how dry do your cubes get before the next water cycle? mine don't get dry dry, should i try feeding them every other day instead of every day?
How wet can the rockwool stay inbetween waterings? if it doesn't mostly dry out am i risking root rot? I'm not used to the rockwool yet as i have never grown in this medium. I have grown DWC, ebb n flow with hydroton, and dirt in the past.
A) When they are quite small in the beginning you can go a couple of days, just make sure you feel the weight of the cube. Just loosen one cube enough to know the weight. A 3 inch cube full of water weighs about 6 ounces and a dry one weighs almost nothing so its easy to tell.
Only water deep enough to cover 1.4 inch or so or the cube and let the capillary action of the rockwool take up the water that it will and is all you need.
When your plants get aboutthe size they are now you may want to put them on a daily watering.
Cloud Machine
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 138
I have put together a FAQ of all the most relavant questions on Maxximus's Thread.
You can read the original thread here----http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/89415-omega-gardens-volksgarden-rotary-garden.html
Q) Is it kind of like a ebb&flow with a 45 min cycle?
A) That is correct though you don't constantly water, but just for 1 or 2 cycles per day and only to a depth of 1/4 in up the rooting medium, and you would separate the watering cycles if you indeed needed 2 cycles.
Q) You say its in a 5x5 hut? How much room do you have to work with and what are the temps like?
A) Dims for the VG are 4 foot and 31 inches so i have 6 inch clearance of either end, and I have 2 foot plus on the open side of the VG so its ideal. temps from 75 to 85F with the air-con.
Q) What about getting enough fresh air? would you need to seal the window with a board and cut a whole to attach an air intake? and where would you pipe the used (coal filtered) air out, just into the apartment?
A) If you are knocking the smell down with a can filter then you don`t have to worry about what you do with the air imo. A grow tent should have venting for air exchange in the tent, plus venting for air-cooling your lighting, and if you are lucky one more for an air-con unit. Depending on your local you can have your windows open so exchange and humidity are not an issue, or you may need to run a dehumidifier. If you are lucky you may have a handy way to exhaust your heat/room, if not you may to get creative. It`s not a problem for me to have my window open so I am lucky.
Q) Maxximus, what do you do for water? Tap? Filtered? How much water does a system like this use?
Also, how many mothers do you need to feed the VG 60 plants at the same time? Do you know how long it takes for a clone to grow into a mother plant that can produce that much? Just trying to get an idea of how big of an area you need for mothers and clones to run 1 or 2 of these and how many mothers it takes to feed one.
How much cut in yield do you think there would be if you ran around 48 plants?
A) I use tap water because it is free and easy to get to.
I have a 25 gallon resevoir that I fill with 20 gallons of water.
As far as mother plants go - two plants are enough to fill the
system. Give them 2 months of veg time. Two moms will fit in a
closet or a cheap rubber made cabinet at home depot. Get sum t5
flourescent lights. They are cheaper to run and aren't very hot.
As for taking clones - I usually do two runs. 4 weeks from harvest
I take about 35 clones. 10 days later I take 30 more. you want to
put at least 60 plants in there.
Q) I would like to ask you a few questions which I can not obtain from the dealer in Orange county for the Volksgarden.
kinda lame that they dont know some of this stuff if they are selling them
1. how many row of cub slots are there in side the cylinder?
A) 16 slots
Q) How many cubes per row can be fited?
A) 5 max
Q) For a 3'' cube, how far it is from the top of the cube to the "light housing and glass tube?
A) 18 inches
Q) When cylinder rotate, i believe clockwise, how long does the bottom row which contact with the "water/nutrition" tray stay there so it can soak the "water & nutrien"?
A) Depends which side you are looking at it as to clockwise or counter. short time like 2 or 3 mins and only water .25 inches deep in the cube and let the RWs capillary action do the rest
Q) What are the best strains to grow in the VolksGarden?
A) Strains - La Confidential, LA Woman, Purple Kush, Strawberry Cough(though it has haze genetics so veg it shorter), G - 13, Hash Plant, Afghani. You are looking for a short indica that takes 8 weeks. Go buy a Cannabible, by Jason King and start getting to know your strains.
The price of meds is higher in LA. Start going to your local Oakland clubs, get to know the people working there, show up consistently for a few weeks and buy some meds. Mention that you have a crop going. Tell them the strain, usually they will ask you how much of it will you have and what are you going to do with it. Take it from there.
For most places the order of price is - OG, Elites(Chem dawg, Head Band, Sour D, G-13, etc), kushes, Hazes, purples. They tend to look at the meds more than actually smoking it. They look for - Frostiness, density, color, smell.
Good luck. Buy some books and do some research. It is fun. The best book you can buy is Jorge Cervantes Medical Growers Bible.
Q) Maxx, how dry do your cubes get before the next water cycle? mine don't get dry dry, should i try feeding them every other day instead of every day?
How wet can the rockwool stay inbetween waterings? if it doesn't mostly dry out am i risking root rot? I'm not used to the rockwool yet as i have never grown in this medium. I have grown DWC, ebb n flow with hydroton, and dirt in the past.
A) When they are quite small in the beginning you can go a couple of days, just make sure you feel the weight of the cube. Just loosen one cube enough to know the weight. A 3 inch cube full of water weighs about 6 ounces and a dry one weighs almost nothing so its easy to tell.
Only water deep enough to cover 1.4 inch or so or the cube and let the capillary action of the rockwool take up the water that it will and is all you need.
When your plants get aboutthe size they are now you may want to put them on a daily watering.
lol shits dope!
